Official Anglican aid and development agencies Anglican Missions and Christian World Service have joined the newly established Emergency Alliance to pool their resources and expertise with other development agencies in times of emergency response.

This will allow Anglicans to be part of this new collaborative effort to mobilise resources for people on the frontlines during the early stages of a major emergency.

Anglican Missions Humanitarian and Development Manager Mark Mitchell says the Alliance reflects a new way of working across the development sector.

“It's a step of faith that believes in what can be accomplished when we work together towards a common goal.”

National Director of Anglican Missions, Rev Michael Hartfield said the Emergency Alliance is a great way to simplify how churches and church agencies work in emergency response.

“This simply makes sense. Every conversation we’ve had with stakeholders regarding a joint appeal has been met with universal approval.”

The Emergency Alliance launched on Wednesday 16 March in Auckland and was attended by representatives from founding organisations Anglican Missions, Tearfund New Zealand, Christian World Service, Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand, The Leprosy Mission New Zealand, Habitat For Humanity New Zealand, cbm (Christian Blind Mission) and ADRA (Adventist Development and Relief Agency).

The Emergency Alliance launch began with a joint working session where agencies refined the process of launching joint appeals, putting in place protocols to enable swift response in times of emergency. 

Alliance members now enter a global network of joint appeal organisations and hope to welcome more agencies as time goes on.

CWS Director Murray Overton says the plan of collaborating across different church agencies makes sense to CWS, which has collective cooperation in its aid and development DNA. 

“As an ecumenical organisation, we strongly support the vision of churches and agencies working together to uplift people wherever and whenever there is need.”

Christian World Service has been working as a collective vehicle for humanitarian aid delivered by the Aotearoa New Zealand churches since December 1945, when Archbishop Campbell West-Watson led the establishment of the National Council of Churches’ Christmas Appeal for overseas relief in post-war Europe. 

“This new platform for drawing together an even wider number of agencies can only improve our response to people coping in the aftermath of significant disaster events.”